Larry Shenk, Vice President of Alumni Relations, shares his notes, quotes and anecdotes from the world of baseball.

June 2012

Joe-B brought some sanity to the mound with his club-high second complete game of the season. In splitting the first two games of the series, the pitching staff gave up 19 runs to the Twins.

Joe-B started the season strong, then struggled but last night he was in charge all the way. On May 14, he allowed one run in seven innings to the Astors. In his next five starts, 30 runs.

Gentleman Jim hit another home run and drove in three runs. On this six-game interleague road trip, he has 13 RBI.

Defense was crisp and ended a seven-game streak of committing errors, 12 of ‘em.

Phillies are now 7-1 on Thursdays. Perhaps they should schedule some doubleheaders on this day. And, back-to-back wins for the first time this month.

Trip Ends
Interleague road trip ends this weekend in Toronto, night, day, day, where the Blue Jays have lost three in a row. In interleague history, the teams are even at 18-18 with the Phillies holding a 9-6 edge at Rogers Centre.

Phillies weekend record: 6-3 on Fridays, 2-8 on Saturdays and 3-7 on Sundays.

Team is scheduled to land round 3:15 a.m. today in Toronto and then has to go through customs before getting to the hotel. So, another situation in which the players need to sleep fast. Game time is 7 this evening.

Down On The Farm
**Lehigh Valley got pasted by Durham, 12-2. RHS Scott Elarton (5-3) was the pitcher of record.

**Reading lost, 8-5, at Binghamton. 2B Cesar Hernandez was 0-4, dropping his June average to .357.

**Clearwater scored in every inning but the first and third in besting Tampa, 10-7. Chase was 0-3 with two walks. 3B Cody Asche went 5-5, boosting his average to .343 for the FSL All-Star Game Saturday in Port Charlotte. RF Anthony Hewitt hit seventh and eighth home runs and drove in 4.

**Lakewood lost, 7-1, to Hickory.

Phlashback
June 15, 1949: 1B Eddie Waitkus, in his first year with the Phillies, is shot by 19-year-old Ruth Steinhagen in a Chicago hotel room. Critically injured, Waitkus misses the rest of the season, but recovers in time to help the Whiz Kids in 1950.

June 15, 1991: RHP Andy Ashby becomes the first and only Phillies pitcher of the century to strike out the side on nine pitches when he whiffs 1B Hal Morris, LF Todd Benzinger and C Jeff Reed in the fourth inning of a 3-1 loss to Cincinnati at the Vet.

June 17, 1930: RF Chuck Klein sets a club record with a 26-game hitting streak (May 18-June 17, .482) and duplicates it (July 12-August 3, 1st game, .434). In between, he hit in 16 of 19 games, .359. Overall, he hit safely in 68 of 71 games, May 18-August 3, 1st game.

Name the Phillie who faced both Wilt Chamberlain and Willie Stargell. Answer in Where Are They Now on www.phillies.com/alumni.

When the Twins came to bat for the first time last night, the Phillies were up 6-0. Then, up, 7-1 and 9-3, behind Cole, their ace who was trying to end a personal two-game losing streak. The Twins chipped away and trailed only 9-8 after seven.

Qualls struck out the side in the eighth, but a wild pitch on the third strikeout allowed the batter to reach first. Enter Papelbon, who wound up with a four-batter save. It was his third appearance this month, the only wins in June for the Phillies.

The Phillies offense had a chance to give their closer some breathing room by loading the bases with no out in the top of the ninth. As has happened too often this season, they failed to score.

While the Phillies have scuffled on this trip, 41-year-old Thome has shined. Last night, he unloaded a titanic home run over the batter’s eye in center field at Target Field (estimated at 466’) and drove in four runs. According to Elias Sports Bureau, three other Phillies over 40 have had four-RBI games, Matt Stairs, Tony Perez (twice) and Joe Morgan.

In five games as the DH, Jim has 10 hits, including two doubles and a pair of homers, and 10 RBI.

Eight years ago today, Jim hit his 400th home run at Citizens Bank Park, one of the great early moments in the Phillies new home. Since that day, he’s hit 206 more home runs.

Kyle hadn’t allowed a home run in 25 innings. Two pitches into the game last night and that streak ended. That homer started the Twins on their way to a 5-0 lead after two innings.

Twice the Phillies scratched their way to within a run but the Twins kept adding on, sending the Phillies to their ninth loss this month against just two wins. Have to go back to 2006 for the last time the Phillies were this far out of first place.

Good news. No one got hurt and there’s another game tonight. Got to keep on battling.

Chooch, who had been in a spin at the plate, got a pair of hits. In the latest All-Star voting update, he’s climbed into third place.

Fan Trip
A group of Phillies fans are at Target Field for this series as part of AAA-Mid Atlantic’s road trip promotion. Joining the fans are Tommy Greene and Von Hayes, a pair of Phillies Alumni.

Down On The Farm
Mother Nature washed out Lehigh Valley at Syracuse, Reading at Binghamton and Lakewood at home.

Clearwater lost, 4-3, in 10 innings to Tampa. Chase, as DH, was third in the batting lineup, 0-5 with three strike outs. No decision for Brody Colvin, who returned to the starting rotation, one run, 6 innings.

Numbers
When did the Phillies start wearing numbers on their uniform jerseys? For the answer, check out www.phillies.com/alumni.

Phlashback
June 13, 1997: A revolutionary idea in Major League Baseball came to fruition, as Interleague Play made its debut. The Phillies face the Toronto Blue Jays in their first Interleague game. RHP Wayne Gomes makes his major league debut and wins in relief, 4-3.

For the Phillies, 42 players were chosen in the three-day draft last week. Those who sign soon begin their professional careers right away in a mini-camp that began yesterday at Carpenter Complex.

With spring training for minor leaguers, extended spring training, the fall instructional league program, the Gulf Coast League and a Class A team in the Florida State League, young prospects can spend a lot of time in Clearwater while on the road to Citizens Bank Park.

For some new signees, Clearwater will be their new home for the summer as members of the Gulf Coast League Phillies. Others may wind up in Williamsport, PA and if advanced enough, Lakewood or Clearwater. For many, this will be the first time away from home for an extended period of time, a huge adjustment.

Mini-Camp
New players underwent physicals at 7 a.m. yesterday and then worked out along with the players from extended spring training. Photo day is 7 a.m. tomorrow. Nothing like trying to look away for cameras early in the morning.

Workouts continue until Friday when rosters for Williamsport and Gulf Coast League Phillies will have been determined. That afternoon, Williamsport will fly to Philadelphia and then bus to their summer homes in Williamsport.

Williamsport Crosscutters
Season opener is 7 p.m., Monday, June 18, against the State College Spikes at Bowman Field. Williamsport is in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League.

There is no admission fee for Gulf Coast League games that are played at 12 noon or 10 a.m. Games are not scheduled on Sundays. Fans are urged to wear hats because of the strong summer sun and the potential of droppings from flocks of seagulls.

Rehabilitation
Major league and minor league injured players on rehab are assigned to the Clearwater facilities.

Chase is beginning a rehab assignment tonight with the Threshers. Howard, Stutes, Herndon and Nix are also part of the program and could eventually begin rehab assignments soon. At some point, the potential exists that Halladay will also report to Clearwater.

Down On The Farm
**Lehigh Valley was a 4-1 winner at Syracuse. RHS Tyler Cloyd (5-1) gave up one first-inning run in seven innings and added an RBI single (hitting .364). Including Reading, Cloyd is 9-1 this year, pushing his career total to 42-22.

**Reading, scheduled to begin a series in Binghamton tonight, spent a day off in Cooperstown touring the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

**Clearwater won, 7-2, at Dunedin. SS Edgar Duran had a pair of hits and three RBI. RHS Perci Garner (3-3), allowed one run in six innings.

He had a lead yesterday but the offense shut down after leading, 4-1, after 3.5 innings. Cliff gave up 3 in the bottom of the fourth and left a 4-4 game after six innings. Over their last six innings, the Phillies offense produced a pair of singles and a hit batter.

AO and GB. For much of the season, the Phillies offense has failed to Add On and the pitchers seem to Give Back runs right after the Phillies score. It happened again yesterday.

Defense is in a rut, 10 errors in last seven games (65.1 innings) after just nine in previous 21 games.

In Cliff’s 10 starts, the Phillies are now 3-7. So, Cliff will have to wait until the weekend in Toronto.

Thanks to Phillies fans who filled Camden Yards this weekend. Seeing Phillies red in visiting territory has become very common. Their passion is certainly appreciated.

Notes
Pierre topped the 1,000 mark in runs scored over the weekend and now sits at 1,002. Next target is Tony Taylor, 1,005. Juan needs 5 more RBI to reach 500 . . . Thome leads all players with 60 interleague home runs . . . Last Phillies series win in Baltimore came in 2005 . . . Four of the Phillies seven relievers have a combined total of 52 major league appearances, 56.1 innings; five of the seven are 26 years of age or younger . . . Congrats to Jim Jackson who is being inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame tonight in Salisbury, NC.

Twins Time
Next three nights, starting Tuesday, the Phillies will play the Twins in Target Field. It will be the Phillies first visit to Target Field. They have yet to play in Miami’s new home.

Twins lead Phillies in interleague play, 5-4.

Down On The Farm
**Lehigh Valley won two of three. 2B Kevin Fransden was 8-14 with 2 RBI. C Erik Kratz drove in 8 runs, 4 coming on a Sunday grand slam.

**Reading won two of three from Harrisburg. 3B Tim Kennelly was 8-11 in the three games, including two home runs on Sunday, the last one a walk-off dinger.

**Clearwater lost twice at Dunedin and was rained out at St. Lucie on Friday.

**Lakewood won one of three at Delmarva. LHP Ethan Stewart (2-6) started and ended the week with wins.

Phlashback
June 11, 1985: Phillies’ greatest offensive game ever…26-7 win over New York begins with a nine-run first inning, highlighted by LF Von Hayes’ two home runs, a solo shot and a grand slam. No other Phillies player ever hit two homers in the first inning. Phillies set club records for runs, hits, doubles and total bases. 3B Schu and 2B Juan Samuel tie a major league record with seven at-bats each.

LA completed a historic sweep of the Phillies yesterday and then flew to Seattle, a six-hour flight. Historic in that the Los Angeles Dodgers had never swept four games in Philly….ever. Oh, when the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, they took four from the Phillies in 1946 at Shibe Park.

It marked the third time a visiting team has swept a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park. The Astros in 2010 and Nationals a year ago.

A 3-0 lead for Cole turned into another defeat. In 36 innings against the Dodgers, the Phillies scored in just six innings. The offense didn’t add on yesterday, the defense gave way and the bullpen couldn’t keep it close.

The 1-6 homestand is something the Phillies have done nine previous times, the last being 1999. Only once did the Phillies ever go winless in a seven-game stand and that was in September of the fateful 1964 season. The poorest Citizens Bank Park homestand is 1-9 in August of 2004.

While the Dodgers took to the air, the Phillies hit the tracks as in Amtrak for a train trip to Baltimore. They play the Orioles three times over the weekend as interleague play resumes. Unlike their neighbors to the south, Phillies fans are welcomed at Camden Yards. It will seem like Citizens Bank Park, I’m sure.

Baltimore has the upper hand in interleague play against the Phillies, 24-21. At Camden Yards, the Phillies have the upper hand, 13-11.

Losing at home is not characteristic of Charlie’s club since the park opened. At 12-19 they have the NL’s worst home record. Charlie’s clubs traditionally do well on the road and that is the case this season, 16-12. Only Atlanta has more road wins, 19.

Back to yesterday’s loss….the bright side…..nobody wound up on the disabled list.

Down On The Farm
**Lehigh Valley scored five in the seventh for a 5-2 win over Gwinnett. No decision for RHS Scott Elarton, one run in 6 innings. 5th save for RH Phillippe Aumont.

June 8, 1989: SS Steve Jeltz becomes the first Phillie to homer from each side of the plate in a game, a 15-11 win over Pittsburgh, one of the wildest games in Vet history. The Pirates score 10 runs in the first inning but the Phillies battle back to win on a five-run eighth inning. Pittsburgh broadcaster Jim Rooker boasts early in the game, “If the Pirates lose this game, I’ll walk from here to Pittsburgh.” Rooker keeps his word, walking from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in the fall and raising money for charity.

June 9, 1982: Steve Carlton (7-6) sets a club record for most strikeouts by a LHP in a nine-inning game, by fanning 16 Cubs in a 4-2 win at the Vet. Lefty fanned Ryne Sandberg four times.

June 10, 1972: To change their luck, Phillies wear blue road uniforms at home only to lose to Atlanta, 15-3.

June 10, 1975: 3B Mike Schmidt hits a ball off a public address speaker hanging from the Astrodome roof, 117 feet up and 300 feet from home plate. Schmidt settles for a single off LHP Claude Osteen in the Phillies’ 12-0 win.

June 10, 1981: Another great moment in Vet history. 1B Pete Rose needs two hits to surpass Stan Musial as the all-time NL hit leader. Rose singles in his first at-bat against Houston RHP Nolan Ryan, who then strikes out Pete the next three at-bats. Phils win, 5-4, before 57,386. Two days later, players go on strike until August, eliminating 55 games.

For the third straight game, Phillies pitchers struck out 12 Dodgers. For the third straight game, the Phillies suffered a one-run defeat, first time since 2009 LA has won a series at Citizens Bank Park.

Seven hits and seven walks did the Phillies in last night. Five pitchers combined to throw 179 pitches, 17 more than five LA pitchers. Difference: LA walked two.

The Phillies staff is tied with Milwaukee for the most strikeouts in the NL, 461. Also, tied with Rockies for second in home runs allowed, 64, two behind Houston. Phillies pitchers did keep the ball in the park while Phillies hitters unloaded three home runs.

It all added up to the fifth straight loss in the seven-game homestand that ends this afternoon. An Amtrak charter train will leave 30th Street Station after the game for a short ride to Baltimore and the start of nine interleague games on the road.

Polly got hurt (cut left index finger) on Tuesday night, Galvis left the game last night with low back pain and then went on the DL. Putting players on the disabled list seems to be a weekly ritual. If you are counting, Freddy is the 13th different player to be DLd.

Down On The Farm
**Lehigh Valley defeated Gwinnett, 5-1. RHS Tyler Cloyd was the entire show, 1 run in 8 innings on the mound, a single, double, walk and RBI as a hitter.

Phlashback
June 7, 1910: RHP Eddie Stack is the first Phillies pitcher to toss a shutout in his major league debut, 1-0, over Chicago at Baker Bowl.

June 7, 1967: Doug Clemens ties a National League record with a pinch-hit double in his third consecutive game. Phillies bow to Cubs, 3-1, at the Vet.

June 7, 1983: LHP Steve Carlton passes RHP Nolan Ryan on the all-time strikeout list (3,522) when he fans St. Louis LF Lonnie Smith in the third inning of a 2-1 loss. Carlton and Ryan see-saw back and forth before Ryan takes the lead permanently late in the season.

June 7, 1985: Mike Schmidt makes his first appearance at home as a first baseman; Rick Schu plays third. Schmidt borrowed a wig from Larry Andersen and wore it when he took the field. Final score: Montreal 3, Phillies 1.

Cliff was invincible a year ago in June, 5-0, allowing one measly run for the month. In his first start this June, he was invincible through 7.2 innings when the Dodgers strung together four hits for their second straight one-run win over the Phillies, this one, 2-1.

His 122nd pitch went for a game-losing double and a gut-wrenching loss. One pitch cost him the game. Of those 122 pitches, an incredible 92 were strikes. He fanned 12, the 20th time he’s had double figures in strike outs. Seventeen of those 20 have come since 2010.

All he got out of the night was an 0-3 record accompanied by a 2.92 ERA. That, my friend, is hard to believe. In his nine starts, the Phillies have scored a total of 16 runs. Equally hard to believe.

Three batters into the first inning and the Phillies led, 1-0. That was it. The rest of the night, just five singles over the final eight innings. Never once did they have more than one base runner in an inning. Once again, hard to believe.

Thirteen times the Phillies have scored one run in a game. They’ve won once, 1-0, opening day behind Doc. Since then Doc has won only three other games and is currently on the DL. Combined, he and Cliff are 4-8. Really hard to believe.

Kyle goes to the hill tonight in an effort to halt the four-game spin that includes three one-run defeats.

All-Star Voting
Chooch sits in fourth place in the first update of All-Star voting. I know, I know…hard to believe. His popularity isn’t carrying over to the ballot box, which really is online voting.

Folks, we’ve got to pitch in and vote.

Down On The Farm
Lehigh Valley blasted Gwinnett, 10-1. LF Domonic Brown had a homer, double, homer in his first three at-bats and later added a single. Homer total is now four, all in the last week.

Reading lost, 1-0, to Altoona. RHS Julio Rodriguez (3-1) lost on a second-inning home run.

Phlashback
June 6, 1948: RHP Charlie Bicknell gives up four home runs in a six-run sixth inning as the St. Louis Cardinals coast to an 11-1 decision over the Phillies, first game of a Sunday doubleheader in Sportsman’s Park. In 24.2 innings the rest of the season, he gave up only one home run.

Hitting .268 as a team places the Phillies third in the NL behind only the Dodgers (.269) and Cardinals (.275). That’s not an issue.

The issue lies in scoring runs. When it comes to runs scored, the Phillies are behind six other teams. It seems that when they have a runner on third with less than two out, they never score. Never is way too strong, I’m sure. It just seems that way.

It happed again last night in the Dodgers’ 4-3 win. The three runs tell another story. When scoring three or fewer runs, the Phillies are 4-21. Tied after eight innings, 1-6.

Cliff takes the mound in game two tonight in an effort to stop the Phillies three-game slide and his person one. The lefty last won a game on September 26. He’s winless in eight starts this season. Lifetime, 2-0 in three starts vs. the Dodgers.

Down On the Farm
Slim night as Lehigh Valley was rained out, Reading and Lakewood were not scheduled.

Players of May
Clearwater produced the player of the month in 3B Cody Asche and pitcher of the month in LH Jesse Biddle.

Asche, a fourth-round selection a year ago out of the University of Nebraska, batted .363 for May, getting 41 hits in 27 games. He’s a left-handed hitter. The Phillies greatest left-handed hitter to come out of Nebraska? Richie Ashburn.

Biddle, a Philadelphia native, went 2-0 with a 1.36 ERA in six starts. The 27th overall selection in the 2010 draft out of Germantown Friends School, Biddle struck out 32 in 33 innings. Opponents hit .185 against the 20-year-old.

Plashback
June 5, 1948, 1st game: CF Richie Ashburn ties the modern NL rookie record by hitting safely in 23 straight games in a 6-5 win at Chicago. The record was set in 1921 by another Phillie, 3B Goldie Rapp.

For the first time in nearly two weeks, the Phillies have lost two in a row. Miami took the weekend series by holding the Phillies to five runs in winning on Saturday and Sunday.

Phillies dropped to 12-15 at Citizens Bank Park where they were 52-29 a year ago, second best win total in the NL.

With a national ESPN audience tonight, the Dodgers begin a four-game series. LA is only 3-7 in its last 10 games but they still have the best overall record in baseball. Team ERA of 3.29 is third best in the NL; opponents are batting .231, second lowest.

Of the last 11 meetings between the two clubs, the Phillies have won nine.

Bobby’s Back
Bobby Abreu returns to Citizens Bank Park as the Dodgers’ left fielder, hitting .310 since signing with LA on May 4 after the LA Angels released him on April 27.

In nine seasons with the Phillies, he hit .303. Among the team’s all-time lists, he ranks fourth in doubles (.348), fourth in on-base percentage (.416), second in walks (947), fifth in total bases (2,491), fifth in slugging (.513), sixth in extra-base hits (585), ninth in home runs (195), ninth in RBI (814) and seventh in steals (.254).

Some day after he retires, he’ll be inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame. There’s no doubt about that.

Down On The Farm
**Lehigh Valley lost, 4-3, on Sunday to Pawtucket. LF Domonic Brown hit his second home run of the week.

**Reading collected 12 singles in losing, 8-3, at Bowie. RHS Trevor May (5-3) lost his third in a row.

**Clearwater blanked Palm Beach, 3-0. LHS Jesse Biddle fanned a career high 12 in just seven innings. He along with fellow LHPs Austin Wright and Adam Morgan and C Cameron Rupp have been selected to play in the All-Star Game. 3B Cody Asche, second in the league at .352, didn’t make the North squad.

**Lakewood ended the week with its sixth consecutive loss, 9-4, at Kannapolis.

Curt Simmons Day
Big day on Saturday for Curt Simmons in his hometown of Egypt, PA, the 65th anniversary of his game against the big league Phillies in which he recorded 11 strikeouts.

The day began with a parade down Main Street to Egypt Memorial Park, scene of the exhibition game against the Phillies on June 2, 1947. One native of the town said, “I’ve lived here for 41 years and this is the first parade we ever had.”

“There were more people at the parade today than lived here when I was a kid,” beamed Simmons. The parade route went past the house in which he lived. A large banner hung from the porch roof, “Welcome Home Curt.”

The street off Main Street that leads to the ball field was changed to “Curt Simmons Drive.” A new sign will be mounted on the back of the grandstand, “Simmons Field.”
He also received numerous proclamations from politicians during the 40-minute program that followed the parade.

Whitehall High School athletic director, Bob Hartman, also spoke and brought down the house when he said, “Curt we are going to retire your jersey number at Whitehall. Only one problem, we have no idea what number you wore and you don’t remember. So, in honor of the game you pitched against the Phillies, we are retiring #47.”

The event typified small-town America where the game of baseball means so much. People were friendly, appreciative and extremely proud that Egypt is the home of a baseball great. Congratulations to the staff that planned the day. Curt will always remember it.

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